UTorrent is a lightweight and simple BitTorrent client. The BitTorrent protocol is a decentralized file-sharing system that allows many users to connect to each other, simultaneously downloading and uploading pieces of the same file. uTorrent is the second most popular client in the world for working with torrents (behind only the Chinese program Xunlei). Because it is designed to consume minimal system resources and to be simple to use, it is relatively straightforward to configure uTorrent to optimize your download and upload speeds.

Steps

1

Open uTorrent. The program can be opened by clicking on the "Start" menu and navigating to its icon. In Mac OS X, open the program by clicking on its icon in the "Applications" folder.

2

Open the Preferences menu. To do this, click on the "Options" heading in the program's task bar, and then select "Preferences."

3

Configure the "Connection" settings in the Preferences menu. Once the Preferences menu has appeared, click on "Connection" in the left panel. Make sure that the incoming port box reads "443," and check the 2 boxes labeled "Enable UPnP port mapping" and "Enable NAT-PMP port mapping." Leave the other boxes unchecked.

4

Configure the "Bandwidth" settings in the Preferences menu. Click on the "Bandwidth" option in the left panel. Set the maximum download rate to "0," meaning download speeds will be unlimited. Set the maximum upload rate to as high a value as your system can handle; if you won't be using your computer as you download torrents, set it to "0."

Under the BitTorrent protocol, your download speed is constrained by your total uploads. So, if you want fast download speeds, make sure you upload ("seed") as many files as possible.

The 3 boxes under the "Number of Connections" heading should be left to their default values.

5

Configure the "BitTorrent" settings in the Preferences menu. In the left panel, select the "BitTorrent" option. In this menu, check every check-box except for "Limit local peer bandwidth." For the option reading "Outgoing Protocol Encryption," select "Enabled."

6

Configure the "Queueing" settings in the Preferences menu. Finally, click on the "Queueing" option in the left panel. Use any value for the maximum number of active torrents allowed; this will depend on how heavy your usage of uTorrent is. Make sure that the "Seed While" boxes are set to at least 100 percent and 0 minutes. This will ensure that your program seeds enough torrents to keep your download speed optimized.

7

Apply the settings you changed. After editing all of the above preferences, click the "Apply" button to apply your changes. Remember to seed files as often as possible, as this is the chief factor that influences how fast your downloads will be.

Community Q&A

Normally, on Utorrent, files begin seeding as soon as they are finished downloading. When using Utorrent, you are downloading by receiving fragments of a file (or files) from other users. That said, seeding can be considered as you contributing to the sharing of these fragments, thus making it easier for others to download.